Housing trends from luxury toward green
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Could 2008 mark the end of the McMansion? Long derided for its excess, this may be the positive result of all the bad news of 2008.
But there is the McMansion and there is true luxury real estate and luxury real estate took a pounding in the Charleston real estate market and elsewhere this year for several reasons. While current mortgage rates for conforming loans are incredibly priced at around 5%, non conforming jumbo loans have been and still are priced considerably higher. "Moving up" has become more difficult for homebuyers who can't sell their current home.
And even though the price of a barrel of oil has dropped by over $100 since July, the price shock made energy savings more important than ever which brings us to the increasing trend towards green. Several builders in the Charleston area are now building totally green and several others are making increasing efforts toward building with energy efficiency in mind. Less square footage is easier on the heating and cooling budget and using eco friendly materials is a big help as well.
btw, the newest AgentOwned Realty office in Park Circle is totally green.